Finding Residential School Records

Why consult residential school records? What information can be found in them?

There are many different types of records related to residential schools. The following types of government records are likely to mention the names of students:

Attendance and discharge forms

Applications for admission

Applications for educational assistance

Daily registers

Records of death for pupils in residential schools

Nominal rolls

Principal’s monthly reports

Pupil withdrawal forms

Quarterly returns

Transportation records for students

How do I find documents from residential schools that mention a student’s name?

If you know the name of the school and the years the student attended, you can search to find references to records in the database Archives Search--Advanced.

Enter keywords: 1) Name of school 2) Type of record (e.g. Nominal roll)

If the reference you find is a file from the School Files Series, you can view the file on our website by clicking on the microfilm reel number in the Microform Digitization tool.

For help with searching, see the Search Help screen.

If you would like to order a copy of a record that you have found, please visit the Reproduction Requests section.

Research tips

For more detailed information about these records, see Conducting Research on Residential Schools: A Guide to the Records of the Indian and Inuit Affairs Program and Related Resources at Library and Archives Canada.

Not all types of records exist for each school. Only some types of records will contain names of students. For more information on the types of records produced by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, and the information they contain, please see Appendix II of Conducting Research on Residential Schools.

There are many different documents about residential schools in Library and Archives Canada’s collections. For a list of government documents, and other documents about residential schools, please see Appendix III and Appendix IV of Conducting Research on Residential Schools.

Types of federal government records held at Library and Archives Canada

Table 1: List of Reference Numbers, Collection Titles, Record Types, and Examples for Federal Government Records

​Record Group (RG)

​Reference Number and Title of Collection

​Types of Records

Examples of Volumes or Files​

​RG10

​Indian and Inuit Affairs Program sous-fonds (part of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development fonds)

​Administration Program, Indian and Inuit Affairs Program sous-fonds (part of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development fonds)

​Deputy Minister's records and some Central Registry files, 1922–1983. Funding, curriculum and administration of Indian schools.

​Vols. 330-442, 496-97, and 632-669 and accessions 1983-84/231 and 1983-84/247

​RG85

​Northern Affairs Program sous-fonds (part of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development fonds)

​Inuit and Indian social and economic conditions, general, after 1920. Includes schools.

Native education. General files, including records on policy, funding of church and territorial schools, curricula, and files relating to specific schools, ca.1906 ff. see also liaison files with the individual churches

The "Eskimo Book of Wisdom", ca. 1930–1946 (developed for and used in northern schools).

Examples of non-governmental records held at Library and Archives Canada:

Table 2: Church Records in the LAC holdings

​Reference Number

​Collection Title and Details

​Examples of Volumes or Files

​MG 17, B 2

​Church Missionary Society [Anglican]—microfilm and microfiche copies of headquarters correspondence and accounts, reports and journals from mission posts, and letters sent to the missionaries across North America.

​Instrument de recherche MSS 23

MG 17, B 4​

​Colonial and Continental Church Society [Anglican]—microfilm copies of minutes, reports, publications and other records of the CCCS and predecessors.

​MSS Finding Aid 40

​MG 29, D 53

​Reverend Allen Salt—Methodist missionary, after teaching at Alderville Industrial School. He kept journals 1854–1855 and 1874–1899 at various missions.

​Shelf list prefaces microfilm reel C-15709

Table 3: Private Records of Superintendents General of Indian Affairs

Reference Number​

Collection Title and Details​

Collection Title and Details​

​MG 27, ID10 (R-4037)

​David Laird—Served as Minister of the Interior, 1873–1876; Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories, 1876–1881; and Indian Commissioner for the North-West Territories, Manitoba and Keewatin, 1898–1914.

​No finding aid

​MG 26, A (R-4505)

​Sir John A. Macdonald—Served as Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, 1878–1887 (Minister of the Interior, 1878–1883, and Privy Council 1883–1887).

​Finding aid MSS 104

​MG 29, E 106

​Hayter Reed—Served as Indian Agent for Battleford District in 1881; Assistant Commissioner for the North West Territories in 1884, Commissioner in 1888 and Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs in 1893.

​Finding aid MSS 1394

​MG 27, IC4 (R-4505)

​Edgar Dewdney—Served as Indian commissioner for Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, 1879-1888; Lieutenant-Governor of the Northwest Territories, 1881-1888; Minister of the Interior and Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, 1888–1892.

​Finding aid MSS 56 (electronic)

​MG 27, ID6 (R-4035)

​Thomas Mayne Daly—Served as Minister of the Interior and Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, 1892–1896.

​No finding aid

​MG 27, IID15 (R-7693)

​Clifford Sifton—Served as Minister of the Interior and Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, 1896–1905.